Monday, September 13, 2010

This banner, the largest battle flag in existence, measures 36 by 29 feet. It was made by Mrs. Mary Young Pickersgill and her two nieces for exactly $405.90. The material was cut at Mrs. Pickersgill's home, "No. 60 Albemarle Street, Old Town" (Pratt and Albemarle Streets, Baltimore), and carried to a nearby brewery, where it was sewed together in anticipation of the British attack on the fort..

During the bombardment it was pierced by a number of shots. Recently the flag was restored at the National Museum, Washington, D. C., where it is considered one of the most precious possessions of that institution.

National star-spangled banner centennial commission, Frank Albert O'Connell, William F. Coyle Munder-Thomsen Press, 1914 - History - 278 pages. Original from the New York Public Library. Digitized: Feb 12, 2008. imverted V shape to our left? It is an “A” sewn onto the flag by Louisa Armistead, widow of the commander of Ft. McHenry

Francis Scott Key, a Washington lawyer had come to Baltimore to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes, a civilian prisoner of war, witnessed the bombardment from a nearby truce ship.

When Key saw the flag emerge intact in the dawn of September 14, he was so moved that he began to compose the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry" which would later be renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and become America's national anthem.

This Image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1923 are copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923, (in this case 1914) are now in the public domain.